To Those We Loved
by Love the Brightest Star
Summary: James Sirius Potter has the combined curiosity of his parents and the mischievous streak of his namesakes. So when his father is all secretive about a parcel that he brings home from the Ministry, of course James has to find out about it. But will it bring simply chaos, or will something better come out of it?
1. Curiosity killed the cat

**So here's another story for you, my first multi chapter story. Enjoy!**

James Sirius Potter sat lounging on the couch in the sitting room of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. He was getting restless. He shifted his leg to the right, snuggled a bit deeper into the couch to get more comfortable, and then began tapping his foot. His mother, Ginevra, who was reading by the fireplace, sighed.

"James, stop fidgeting," she reprimanded her raven-haired son.

"But mum, it's eight already and dad's not home yet. I can't wait for dinner any longer. Can't we start?" James moaned, although he knew that he would not sit down to dinner without his father; he was just frustrated at his father's lateness at coming back home from work.

"It's high time you learned some patience, Jamie," his younger sister, Lily, said in a marvellous imitation of their mother.

James scowled at his sister, who simply grinned mischievously.

"She is right, James. You know that your father is busy at the Ministry nowadays. He should be here anytime now, though, so you just have to wait," Ginny said.

At that moment, the door opened, revealing a man with jet-black hair, vivid green eyes and a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. His glasses were a little lopsided and he looked rather tired.

"Dad!" Lily ran forward and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Harry Potter's face brightened.

"Hello, little Lilykins!" He kissed her lightly on the cheeks before turning to his wife, and giving her a quick peck.

"Dad, Lily isn't exactly little, is she?" Albus chided, grinning. Lily was twelve, while Albus was fourteen and James sixteen. Harry chose to ignore this comment and merely smiled before promptly collapsing into an armchair.

"The Ministry giving you a hard time, Harry?" Ginny enquired, inspecting the tired face of her husband.

"Oh, no. Lots of work to be done, that's all. Everyone is freaking out, what with the huge array to reports to submit."

"What's that? Something from the Ministry?" Ginny asked suddenly. Harry had a wrapped parcel tucked under his arm.

"Oh, it's – er, I'll tell you later," he said evasively, his eyes darting towards his three children. Ginny understood and nodded, before calling them to dinner. James' interest was fired, however. He silently vowed to find out what was inside the package. Finding out things that he was not supposed to was, after all, a challenge to James Potter.

After dinner, Ginny ushered them to their respective bedrooms.

"Goodnight, children," she said, and went downstairs.

As soon as the sound of her footsteps had faded away, James silently crept out of bed and slipped downstairs. He paused outside his parents' bedroom, which was locked from inside. He fished out from his pocket a flesh-coloured string. It was an Extendable Ear, which he had received from his Uncle George. He put one end to his ear, and pressed the other against the door. A second later, his mother's voice floated to his ears.

"You look really tired, Harry. Are you sure you don't want to take a day or two off?"

"Oh no, Gin, that isn't really necessary. After all, everyone is working hard." There was a small pause before Harry spoke again. "Although," James could practically hear the grin that he knew his father was wearing, "A bit of affection from my lovely wife might be welcome."

"I am sure I'd be glad to be of use to you, Mr. Potter," Ginny replied cheekily.

A moment later, definite sounds of passionate kissing issued through James' extendable ear. He cringed; he certainly did not want to lose his sleep to witness a display of affection between his parents. His patience, however, was rewarded a few minutes later.

"So, Harry, what is the thing that you brought home from the office?" Ginny asked.

"It's the latest make of the Unspeakables," Harry replied, admiration and excitement evident in his voice. "Kingsley gave it to me for safekeeping. Here, take a look."

There was the sound of unwrapping of paper. Ginny let out a gasp of awe. "Sweet Merlin, is it...?"

But what it was James didn't get to know, because at that moment the door opened, and he found himself looking into his father's stern face, his Extendable Ear trailing hopelessly from his ear.

"James Sirius Potter," Harry began, and James gulped. It was not often that his father got angry with him, and when he did, it was quite dangerous.

"How many times have I told you that you are not supposed to eavesdrop on other people's business? Will you ever learn?"

"But dad..." James started.

"No, don't start arguing, young man. Go back to you room, now. And don't you dare repeat your actions."

James sighed, and trudged back upstairs. He knew that he had blown up his chance. But he was too adamant to give up. The previous conversation between his parents had only fuelled his curiosity.

"I will find out what you're hiding, dad," he swore silently. "Someday I will."

-o0o-

"James, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Ginny said for the umpteenth time.

The Potters were going to be away for the day visiting the Weasleys at The Burrow. James had calculated that it was the perfect chance for him to discover the 'Secret Ministry Package', as he had taken to calling it. So he had made up an excuse for staying at home.

"I have loads of homework to do," he had said. It was a pretty lame one, but thankfully his parents had believed him. Thus, James Potter the Great (self-proclaimed title) had finally perfected the plan to achieve his purpose.

"No, mum, I'll be fine. Bye," he said, and ran off to his room. He heard the front door slam, and knew that he was finally alone.

"Now let us begin," he said to himself, and wrenched the door open. What he saw, however, was not something he had prepared himself for. A redheaded girl, a head shorter than himself, was grinning at him.

"L-Lily!" he faltered. "What are you doing here? Didn't you go with mum and dad and Al?"

Lily shook her head.

"Dad didn't trust you alone in the house. So I offered to stay at home, and they agreed. Rather gladly, I think." She added with another cheeky grin. James groaned internally. Trust his imp of a sister to come and ruin his plans. But nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to stop him now. He'd see to that.

"Er...so what are you planning to do?" he asked, trying to act normal. She shrugged.

"You do whatever you like. I'll just... well, I don't really know what I am going to do." She turned and walked away from him.

Left alone, James began to ponder where the parcel might be.

"Let's look into mum and dad's room first," he thought, and walked up a flight of stairs. But the thing he was after was not to be found so easily.

He decided to check his father's study next. Climbing down a couple of floors, he came face to face with a closed door which read 'Study'. He opened it and walked in. This was the place where Harry kept all his documents, papers and Ministry stuff. James began looking into the various cabinets and drawers. The first four of them contained papers and reports. At the fifth drawer, he met with success. Carefully placed on top of some files was the thing he was looking for. It was unwrapped, but could be recognised by its shape and size. James couldn't believe his luck. He picked it up. It was an ornate brown box with a transparent cover. He took off the lid to find a small hourglass with a thin golden chain. Busy though he was in marvelling its beauty, he recognised it as a time turner. Beneath it was a card on which was written in elegant print:

Time Turner: Model 45

The latest creation of the age, this time turner holds the potential of transferring the user as far as 45 years to the past. Travelling so far into the past is extremely dangerous and difficult, and therefore the user will be transferred back to his/ her own time after three hours of using the time turner.

Warning: The user is recommended against trying to cause any major change in the timeline, as this might endanger the very existence of individuals in the present time.

James' heart was beating at the double. A time turner! Should he use it? The past held so many charms for him. His father's life, the days of war – he wanted to know about it all. The desire to use the little apparatus was extreme.

"It's an once-in-a-lifetime chance, James," he said to himself. "Just grab it."

He didn't what he was thinking, but on a sudden impulse, he went off to look for his sister. He checked in her room, Albus' one, and even his own, but she was nowhere to be seen. He finally spotted her in Sirius' bedroom, marvelling the picture of the Marauders for what, in James' opinion, was perhaps the thousandth time. She looked at him, startled, as he burst into the room.

"James, what are you –"

"Lily, look what I've got here," he gasped, out of breath from all the running.

Her eyes widened as she took in the fragile object in front of her.

"A time turner!" she breathed. "Is this what dad brought from the Ministry?"

James nodded.

"Wow. It's beautiful," she said softly, carefully holding the precious artefact. Then she handed it over to her brother. Suddenly, a suspicious look passed over her face.

"You are not planning to use it, are you?" she asked. The shifty look on his features told her the truth. "James, you can't!" she exclaimed. "Dad will be furious if he finds out."

"But he won't get to know," James said earnestly. "I – we will be back in three hours and no one will be any wiser. Look." He showed her the card that was supplied alongside.

She wasn't convinced yet. "It is extremely dangerous to play with time, James. You might ruin everything by meddling with the past."

"I don't mean to change anything, Lily. I just want to go and take a look. And anyway, I just showed this to you because I want you to come with me. If you don't aren't interested, I'll go alone."

"But, James –"

"No, Lily. _I_ am going. That is final. Do you want to come or not?"

Lily's agitated expression softened to concern. She knew this version of James Sirius Potter. Once he had set out upon doing something, he was not going to back down easily.

"Is there no way I can stop you from going?" she pleaded.

James shook his head vigorously like a stubborn six year old. Lily sighed.

"Wait here." She said, and walked out of the room. She came in a couple of minutes later, carrying a backpack which looked quite full.

"What are you doing?" James asked in confusion.

"Going with you, of course," she replied briskly. "There's no way I'm going to let you go off to Merlin knows where alone. I'll stick to you and try to keep you out of trouble, and see that you don't do something stupid."

James was rather touched by his sister's affection, but he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he pointed to the backpack and asked, "What have you got in there?"

"Just a few things that might guide us in the past," she said airily. "Now let's go, we don't have the entire day to waste."

Her brother nodded, and put the fine golden chain around both their necks.

"How many turns?" he asked.

"It's up to you," Lily replied.

James began turning the tiny hourglass in its holder, and a few minutes later, the room which had just contained two children stood bare of any inhabitants.

 **So, read and review please?**


	2. When We Got Them Back

**Hi guys! Here's the second chapter. This story will have only one more chapter; I hope you aren't put off by the short length. I'll be updating as soon as possible. Cheers!**

 **Disclaimer (I forgot all about this earlier, he he): I don't own Harry Potter. It's completely Lady Rowling's.**

* * *

Lily felt darkness close over her. Images and sounds rushed past her, like scenes from a movie being played at top speed. Then it stopped, as quickly and abruptly as it had started. She blinked a couple of time, her eyes instantly seeking her brother, and to her relief, she found him standing next to her, looking just as dazed as she was. She looked around her, and recognised her surroundings immediately. The place was quite different from her times, but there was no mistaking the array of shops and the bustling crowd of wizards and witches. They were in Diagon Alley.

"We are in Diagon Alley." James confirmed her observation.

"But...we were in Grimmauld Place. Doesn't a time turner take you to the same time, only in the past?"

James shrugged nonchalantly. "Must be an extended feature of this thing. Probably to guarantee that the user turns up in a wizarding surrounding. It's weird enough for wizards to find a time traveller turning up from somewhere, let alone muggles."

Lily thought of the state of their residence in the past, bare and dusty in her father's youth and the home of the Blacks in earlier times, and was secretly relieved that they had not ended up in Sirius' bedroom.

"What's the year?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" James looked puzzled.

"Which year is this?" Lily asked.

"Oh – er..." he looked uncomfortable. "Um...I honestly don't know."

"What?" she screamed. This was definitely a disaster. She should never have agreed to come with him. "How on earth –"

"Oh, look, it's Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour!" he exclaimed, probably to distract her. Well, he was certainly successful to some extent. She turned to look at the little ice cream stall with growing delight and excitement, her troubles momentarily forgotten. She had heard many stories of the wonderful ice-cream seller from her parents. The poor man had been dragged off by death eaters in Harry's sixth year. Although there was a new ice cream stall in her time, she had always wanted to try out Fortescue's ice cream.

"Come on, let's have an ice cream!"

She let him steer her over to the shop, where a genial-looking elderly man was selling brightly coloured cold desserts.

"Excuse me, are you Florean Fortescue?" Lily asked the man eagerly.

He looked up at her and said with a smile, "Oh no, little miss. Florean is my son. He helps me in the shop." He pointed towards a fair-haired young man, a little over twenty.

"Oh..." So they were at a time before the 1990's, thought Lily.

"Can I help you with something?" Mr. Fortescue asked kindly.

"Oh, yes. We'd like two sundaes, please." James said quickly. They took their ice creams, and moved towards the chairs laid out beside the stall. Lily's misgivings returned.

"You're such an idiot, James," she said vehemently.

"Why – what did I do now?"

"'What did I do?' ' _What did I do?'"_ Lily had to strain her voice to keep herself from screaming at her brother. "We are somewhere in the past, and we don't know which year this is. Why, we –"

"Relax, Lily," James said a tad loudly. He lowered his voice at a look from his sister. "We could ask someone –"

"Oh, sure, why not?" she hissed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let's just go and ask that lady over there, "Please miss, tell us what year this is." Very clever of you, James."

James rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. His sister had a fiery temper.

"What are you playing dumb for?" Lily went on mercilessly. "Enlighten me with a few more of your brilliant plans. Let's go and declare, "Hello everyone! We are from the future. Perhaps you may have the kindness to tell where we are?" Or perhaps we could ask that young man over there –"

James didn't know how much more of his sister's rants he could take, so he was glad when she stopped. But something was definitely wrong. It was not like Lily Luna Potter to pause midway of a sermon, not at all. He looked up at her curiously. She was staring at two young men sitting a few tables away from them with open-mouthed wonder.

"Lily, what are you gaping at?" he asked.

"James, look at them," she all but whispered.

He followed her line of sight to the table that she had mentioned. He gasped. One of the boys sitting at the table was bespectacled, with a dark mop of hair which was an exact copy of his own.

"Is it – is it dad?" he asked in a low voice.

"No James, I don't think he is." Lily said, looking at the other boy sitting there. He was extremely handsome, with sleek longish dark hair. He was talking to the bespectacled boy, with a slight smile gracing his features. Lily could recognise him anywhere; she had seen that picture of his that hung in their house so many times. It was the young self of her father's godfather, Sirius Black.

"James," she said at last. "It is Grandpa, Grandpa James."

Her brother's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his messy black hair. "Wow, the time turner sent us, what, some forty years into the past!"

But Lily was thinking on other lines. "Should we go talk to them? Should we just slip off? Oh James, what should we do?"

But they didn't get much choice. Unbeknownst to them, the boys where watching them with curious eyes.

"Hey, you two!" One of them called over suddenly. "Would you like to join us here? We have a couple of empty seats."

Both brother and sister looked at each other, and slowly, began walking towards them. Lily's head was reeling. _Merlin's beard, what now?_

Taking in her panic, James decided to take control over the situation. After all, he had brought them into this mess. Thinking as fast as possible, he began whispering hurried instructions to his sister, although he knew that he had as much fear of making mistakes as her, if not more.

"Don't reveal much, okay. We can't, we must not change the timeline."

Some other time, Lily would have rolled her eyes and commented about his suddenly mature behaviour, or even more, remind him that it was _he_ who needed to hold his tongue more than her, but now, all she could do was nod fervently.

"What about our names? Will we tell them our real identities?" she hissed frantically.

"I think we'll have to. I look too much like Grandpa. The similarity is uncanny. And dad says that you look quite a lot like Grandma Lily too." He took in a deep breath. "We'll be fine, Lils. This is what we came for." He tried to assure her, although he was nervous himself.

 _Come what may_ , Lily thought, as they finally reached the table. _This is, after all, a dream come true_.

-o0o-

James Potter and Sirius Black sat at a table at Fortescue's ice cream parlour, slurping their ice creams to beat the July heat.

"It's a pity that Moony couldn't make it here," Sirius commented.

"Yeah," James replied. "He has gone on a holiday with his parents, somewhere on the Alps."

"What's wrong with Wormtail, though?"

"His mother is ill, poor woman. He's at home looking after her."

"Say, Prongsie boy," Sirius grinned. "We'll be at Hogwarts once again in another month. Same good old days – romping with Moony on full moons, me charming the ladies with my extraordinarily good looks –" James rolled his eyes.

" – You pathetically doodling L.E. on your parchments again..."

"Oi!"

The two went on bantering and discussing casual topics. Occasionally, snippets of conversations taking place among the many wizards and witches floated into their ears.

" – No sir, your prices are arbitrarily high. This is robbery –"

"– Have you been to Flourish and Blotts'? I've heard they are giving a discount –"

"Relax, Lily."

James' mind snapped to attention at the mention of the name of his favourite redhead. He craned his neck to find the source of the words. He did spot a redhead, but much to his disappointment, it wasn't the girl he was looking for. She looked rather similar to Lily Evans though, but much younger, he thought as he scrutinised her. She was talking to a boy who was definitely older than her with a scowl on her face. The boy appeared to be trying to pacify her.

"Hello, Earth to Prongs," Sirius called, waving a hand in front of him. "What are you staring at?"

"I just heard that boy call that girl over there 'Lily'," he replied.

"But she isn't Evans," he said. "So why are you so interested?"

"I don't know... she just seems familiar, but I am sure I have never seen her before."

"Hmm... are you sure she's called Lily? It might just be Lizzy or something."

"I heard it all right, Padfoot," James replied stubbornly.

"All right, all right, I just asked. Don't get your knickers in a twist." He focused his steely eyes on the two youngsters. "She seems distressed at something."

The girl was indeed frowning hard, her features arranged in an expression of fury. Sirius decided that he wouldn't like to be at the wrong end of her wand.

"You know, Prongs," he said after a while, "I am more interested in the boy than the girl."

"Why?" James asked, confused.

"Haven't you noticed? He looks really a lot like you. The facial features, the stature, everything is similar. And his hair is exactly a carbon copy of yours," he added, looking at the jet black mop. Deciding that he might attract their attention by staring, Sirius dropped his gaze, keeping watch at the two through the corner of his eyes. The girl was still showering her wrath on the boy, when her gaze rested on them. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes threatened to fall out of their sockets. She turned to her partner and whispered something. He looked just as shocked to look at them. Sirius could feel himself bursting with curiosity.

"Looks like those two find us interesting, Prongs," he said, with a slight smile.

"May be they know us." James suggested.

"Well, there is just one way to find out, isn't it?" Sirius said, his eyes glinting.

"Sirius, what are you –"

"Hey, you two!" he called out to them. "Would you like to join us here? We have a couple of empty seats."

The boy and the girl jumped a little, and then began making their way to the table whispering to each other frantically. Curious. Very curious.

"Hello," Sirius smiled charmingly as the two of them stood in front of them. "You two were standing over there, so we thought of calling you over, since we have free seats."

The redheaded girl smiled slightly. "Thank you. That was very gracious of you."

"Take a seat," he said, pulling back two chairs. The two smiled in a nervous manner and sat down.

"Are you new here? I don't recall seeing you her before," James joined in the conversation.

"Yes," the boy said.

"No," said the girl at the same time.

The two friends looked at them in confusion.

"What my brother means, I'm sure," the girl said, blushing in obvious embarrassment, "is that we have been here before with our parents, but this is the first time we are in Diagon Alley on our own."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I meant to say," the boy said, visibly uncomfortable.

"Oh, so you are siblings?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," the boy said. "This is my sister. She is four years younger than me."

"Do you go to Hogwarts? " James asked.

They nodded. "I'm about to start my second year, and my brother here, his sixth year," said the redhead.

"We are seventeen. Hogwarts too," James replied. "Oh, we didn't introduce ourselves."

"So didn't we," murmured the boy.

They stuck out their hands to each other, and said in unison, "James Potter. Pleased to meet you."

They lowered their hands at the curious coincidence; James' expression turned to one of confusion while the other boy simply looked amused and mildly surprised.

"Are you trying to mimic me or something?" James asked, puzzled.

The boy shook his head, smiling in a mischievous way.

"But _I_ am James Potter."

"Well, so am I," said the other boy.

"James," the girl addressed her brother, while clearly trying not to laugh. "I think you should explain more fully."

The boy nodded, and winked at her. He fixed his chocolate eyes on Sirius' stormy grey ones, and said, "My name is James Sirius Potter."

Both James' and Sirius' jaws dropped. The boy had to be lying. Surely this was a joke.

"What – how –?" Sirius was lost for words. He had certainly not been expecting anything of the kind that was happening.

The girl laughed, a light, tinkling laughter.

"Well, since none of you seem to be capable of any further introductions, we'll do our part. Nice to meet you, Sirius Black, sir," she said to him, smiling, with a little bow. How did she know his name? He hadn't told her, and James too hadn't used it since they met these strange kids.

"And as for you," she turned to his best friend, but not before giving her brother a meaningful look. "I think we should say – Hello Grandpa."

The last two words were spoken by the two siblings in unison.

James' expression was incredible. Sirius had never seen so much surprise and bewilderment in one human face in his life. Well, one could not blame him, poor boy. You would be shell-shocked too if you were seventeen and two teenagers just addressed you as 'Grandpa'.

"G-grandpa?" James croaked. "But what –?"

Suddenly the matter became slightly clearer to Sirius, although the theory which had just entered his mind was, he felt, worthy of being put in a science fiction novel. He decided to give it a shot, nevertheless.

"If James is your grandfather," he asked 'James Sirius' and his sister, "Then you must be from the future..."

"From the year 2020," the girl confirmed.

"Wow, you are forty three years from the future?" James, finally having found his tongue, asked incredulously.

"So we are in 1977?" James Sirius asked. Sirius nodded.

"See, Lily, I told you we could ask someone," he said to his sister triumphantly.

"Shut up, James," she said. "The situation's completely different now."

"So your name is Lily?" James asked with interest.

"Yeah. I'm Lily Luna Potter, sister of this git," she pointed to James Sirius.

"Well," Sirius ventured. "If Prongs is your grandfather, this certainly explains the similarities in your features. But how did you –"

"Your name is Lily, so is your grandma –"

"Shut up for a while, Prongs. How did you turn up here?"

"With this." James Sirius pulled out a small hourglass from around his neck. In brief, he explained his adventures to the two astonished seventh years.

 _Amazing!_ Sirius thought, as he inspected the beautiful time turner. _They'll_ _make such wonderful objects in the future._ He handed it back to its owner.

"Tell us something about the future, then." He demanded of Lily.

"What do you want to know?" She seemed hesitant.

 _What do I look like when I'm older? Do I have a family? What happens to the rest of the Marauders?_ There were so many things to ask.

"Tell us about yourselves," he finally said.

Lily smiled, visibly relaxing. "Our parents' names are Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley."

"Weasley? Would that be Arthur Weasley's daughter?"

"His youngest," Lily confirmed. "We also have a brother, who is two years older than me. His name is Albus."

"My son has a nice choice of names," James said approvingly. "So what is his middle name?"

"Se–" James Sirius began, but Lily stepped on his foot.

"Er – It's not a name your familiar with," she covered up hurriedly, giving her brother a dirty look. The fact that Albus' middle name was Severus would not at all be welcome to the two Marauders, and Lily would be forced to explain everything. This could not be done.

Thankfully, James did not pursue the subject.

"Tell us –" Sirius began, but James cut him off.

"No, it's my turn to ask questions." He turned to the two siblings, who were allegedly his grandchildren. "Who is your grandmother?"

"You could have just asked 'Whom do I marry?'" Sirius muttered, but his best friend disregarded him. "Well?" he queried.

James Sirius put on a look suitable for a funeral. "Oh, Grandpa, sorry to disappoint you so, but...you married a lady named Katelyn Anderson, a muggle, you know. You were so heartbroken throughout your entire life about not being able to marry Grandma Lily that you begged Dad to name his daughter after her."

James looked utterly crestfallen. "So, whom did Lily marry?" he asked dejectedly.

James gave Lily a thoroughly wicked look. "Severus Snape," he said promptly, desperately trying to suppress a grin.

"WHAT?" James roared. He looked so horrified that Lily felt sorry for him. She turned to her brother and said, while trying to keep a straight face, "Now, James, don't mess with him."

"Don't worry, Grandpa," she said to James. "He is just pulling your leg. I _was_ named after my grandmother. Her maiden name was Lily Evans."

James' expression underwent transition from disgust and disappointment to amazement and delight in a fraction of seconds. His face split into such a broad grin that his jaw threatened to fall off.

"I – I do marry Lily? Wow, really?"

Lily nodded. She then opened her backpack and rummaged in it for a while, before pulling out a leather- bound book.

"Here," she said, passing it James and Sirius. "Here's the proof." It was the photo album that Hagrid had given to Harry in his first year.

The two boys gaped at the album, as from every picture in each page, Lily and James smiled and waved at them. Lily could not suppress a delighted smile when she saw James' eyes sparkling, his mouth agape with joy and wonder. But what amazed her more was that James' expression was mirrored on Sirius' face. She had rarely seen a happier man than him. Lily had heard tales about how the two of them were as good as brothers, but now she saw it with her own eyes.

"Here," she said, gently opening the last page. "That's my dad." She pointed at the tiny black haired baby in her grandmother's arms.

"This is... just amazing," Sirius finally said. James nodded mutely, too awestruck to speak. "Thank you." He smacked his best friend on the back, a mad grin on his face. "Way to go, mate. Wouldn't have thought you had it in you."

Even her brother was impressed.

"Great job, Lils," He whispered, giving her a pat in the back.

Finally, when the emotional atmosphere had decreased a little, Lily pulled out another album. She knew that by showing it to James and Sirius, she was more or less jeopardizing her own future, but she hoped that they could be trusted with a secret.

"My parents' wedding pictures," she explained. "None of you were alive at the time, so I guess you'd like to see this."

"When did we die?" James asked curiously.

"Can't say, sorry. It was before mum and dad's wedding, that's all I can tell you," she said sadly. She couldn't possibly tell them that one of them died at twenty one, while the other died at thirty five after serving twelve years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

"Show us the pictures, anyway," Sirius took the album from her. They went through the different pictures – Ginny walking down the aisle with Arthur Weasley, Harry taking his vows, the newlyweds kissing, couples on the dance floor, Harry with his best man, Ron, and so many others.

"Harry's found himself a really beautiful wife. I am a really proud father," James said at last. He was already speaking as if he had known his 'son' since the last century.

"You can go tell your mum that we think she's very hot," Sirius winked. Lily blushed while her brother chuckled.

"Nuh-uh, Sirius. Can't let you have dirty thoughts about our mother" he said cheekily. "Haven't you got any pictures of us?" he asked Lily.

"I do, as a matter of fact," she said, pulling out a few pictures. "That's Al." She pointed at the boy, who was a miniature of his father.

"Wait a moment," Sirius said, scanning a picture of the family in their home. "This house looks familiar. Why, it looks like the Grim Old Place."

James Sirius laughed. "It _is_ 12, Grimmauld Place. That's where we live."

Sirius looked shocked. "You live in that terrible house?"

"What's wrong with my house? Why don't you live there?" James demanded.

"It – er – got destroyed in the war. And Sirius, being dad's godfather, left him the house, so dad moved in later." Lily covered up hurriedly.

"Speaking of the war, it's over, isn't it?"

"It ended before we were born," James Sirius said. "Our side won. Voldemort is dead."

"Thank Merlin," the other two sighed.

The four sat in comfortable silence, finishing the remnants of their ice-creams.

"We've still got about two hours left," James Sirius observed, looking at his watch. "What are we going to do with all this time?"

"Hey, you don't think you are going to get away from us so soon, are you?" James said incredulously.

"Because then, you are wrong," Sirius finished.

"What will we do, then?" James Sirius asked.

"Tell us more about your time, of course," Sirius said without batting an eyelid.

"What about?" Lily asked.

"Er... do I marry in the future?" Sirius asked, after some thought.

Both siblings shook their heads. "You were forever a bachelor."

Sirius chuckled dryly. "Still enjoying the ladies, then? I never thought I could settle down in life, anyway." The other two just smiled slightly. None of them had the heart to say that lack of commitment was hardly the only cause of Sirius' loneliness.

"Give me that picture again," Sirius said suddenly. "The one of you lot in Grimmauld Place." Lily obliged. Sirius scrutinized the picture.

"The house has changed a lot," he observed. "It doesn't look half as bad as it is now."

James Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "Dad did a lot of renovating in the house. Removed the elf heads –" Sirius whooped and punched the air.

"– Lit up the hall and passageways, and redecorated the bedrooms. The house is no longer grim and old."

Sirius beamed. "Wow, I just love my godson already. You just see, Prongs, I am going to downright spoil him."

"Lily will see to that," James smirked, still looking deliriously happy at the prospect of marrying his lady love.

Once again, the time travellers did not stop their happy banter, and watched on with mingled joy and sadness.

"Go on, then," James said after a while. "Tell us more about yourselves; how you spend your time with each other."

The two sighed; the future is something you couldn't get enough of. They looked at each other with narrowed eyes, each challenging the other, and then simultaneously launched into voluminous accounts of each other's lives; how James was cocky and tactless, how Lily wept like a baby when her brothers went to Hogwarts before her... each of them seemed to be bent on discrediting the other. James and Sirius roared with laughter at their tales.

"You know, grandpa, James fell off his broom the first time he tried to fly alone!" Lily laughed at her brother's expense.

"I was only six!" James Sirius protested. "And I am Quidditch captain now, in case you forgot, Lily. Besides, what about you, ogling the Marauders' picture in Sirius' bedroom? You go all pink and giggly when Sirius winks at you." He smirked.

Lily blushed furiously, and punched him in the arm. "James, stop!"

Sirius looked pleasantly surprised. "You do? Why, that's really sweet of you."

"I do not!" Lily shrieked, but her blush gave her away. Sirius laughed, and kissed her on the cheeks. Lily' face turn even redder, if possible.

"I shall be honoured to court you, fair maiden," he grinned, lowering himself on one knee and holding her hand.

"Well, you certainly are not allowed to do so, because she is my granddaughter, you dolt," James punched him playfully on the arm.

"Do not heed him, milady, I will whisk you away! The world cannot keep us apart, even though our love is forbidden! " Sirius cried dramatically, making everyone laugh.

"Enough about us, now you tell us things about yourselves," James Sirius said, once the drama died down.

"Why, don't you know already?" James asked curiously.

"We do, but we didn't get firsthand accounts, you know," Lily explained.

So the two Marauders began relating various tales about their school life, and the different pranks they had played. James Sirius and Lily listened in wonder, drinking in every single detail. They had never imagined that they would get to see the chief Marauders, let alone listen to their stories from their own lips. No one noticed the time fly by, engrossed as they were in enjoying each other's company.

Finally James Sirius looked at his watch again. "Gosh, we have only thirty five minutes in hand!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, dear, I don't want to go back," Lily sighed sadly.

"So don't I, Lils, but we will have to go back anyway. We can't do anything about it," Her brother said soberly. "Besides, who was the redhead who was against coming here in the first place, and thought it would be a disaster?" he added with a cheeky grin.

"Shut up, idiot," she said with a slight smile.

Meanwhile, the two Marauders were whispering between them.

"Since, you will leave shortly," Sirius said, "We have decided to give you a little gift, you know, so that you remember us."

"You don't –" Lily began, but Sirius waved her down.

"Ready, Prongs?" he turned to his comrade. James nodded. Together, they pulled out their wand, and began muttering incantations. The air in front of them shimmered and shifted, and after a minute or two, a beautiful silver bracelet appeared out of thin air, and gently fell onto Lily's lap. She picked it up carefully, and examined it with wonder. Delicate bands of silver were intertwined among each other in beautiful pattern, and etched on its surface, in elegant lettering, were the words 'With love, from Messrs. Padfoot and Prongs'. Lily looked up at them, lips parted in delight and surprise, her eyes dimmed with tears.

"Thank you, I – I –" but she couldn't express her feelings in words. The two boys smiled at her.

"We understand," James said softly. Lily slipped the bracelet on to her hand. "I'll always wear this. Thank you so much." she said thickly. James now turned to his grandson.

"For you –" he rummaged inside his pocket for some time, and pulled out a slightly battered looking snitch.

"You brought it along here too?" Sirius asked, surprised.

James nodded. "This is the snitch I nicked from the school Quidditch equipments," he explained. "I loved playing with it in my spare time."

He then tapped it with his wand, and muttered a few spells, and then handed it over to his grandson.

"You are a great person, James, and from what I found out about you, very true to your namesakes," he said, his eyes twinkling. "I hope this will inspire you in Quidditch." The snitch was the same, except that now, on its golden surface, was etched in James' handwriting – 'James Potter forever'.

James Sirius beamed. "Thanks, grandpa!" he exclaimed. "This is superb!"

"But there is one thing we want of you," James said suddenly, after a few moments' silence.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Do you have a camera?"

"I – I do..." she said grudgingly.

"Could we have a photo together, then?"

"Er – I am not sure that would be a very good idea. We are not supposed to leave any evidence of time travel..."

"Come on Lily, it won't be any harm. We will not show this to anyone," Sirius begged, doing his best puppy dog eyes. "Please? Pretty pretty please?"

No one could resist Sirius' charms for long, and Lily certainly couldn't. She relented.

In a minute, the four were smiling at Lily' small camera, which flashed at them.

"Can we keep this?" James asked, once the photo came out.

After a minor argument, Padfoot and Prongs, purveyors of aids to magical mischief-makers, were the proud owners of the snapshot.

"Could we keep a duplicate of your albums too?"

"No. Certainly not," Lily said decisively. "You are not supposed to know about all that, after all."

"We will keep it a secret, Lily. We won't tell anyone, promise," Sirius tried.

"No," she was not swayed.

"Oh, Lily, you yourself said that we were all dead by the time Harry married. What kind of a father misses his son's wedding? If we have the pictures, we can at least enjoy the happy moments, and be the part of the celebrations ourselves," James said sadly. He looked so miserable that his grandson felt sorry for him.

"Just give it up, Lils. If they won't show it to anyone, it's okay."

"But..."

"Give it to them, Lily. I don't think they will misuse it."

"Okay, fine," she said, pulling out the albums. "But you can't say anything about this to no one, not even Remus, and Peter." Lily gritted the last word out forcefully. It would sound suspicious to call the traitor 'Pettigrew' in front of his best friends.

"Not even Lily?" James pouted.

"I think not… no," Lily said. She felt horrible for denying her grandmother the pleasure, seeing as she would die in four years, but showing her the pictures would mean telling her the entire story, and she did not want anyone else from the past to be privy to their adventure.

James looked mildly disappointed, but shrugged it off. The boys quickly cast duplicating charms on the albums, and collected the copies, giving James Sirius grateful looks.

"Speaking of Lily," James asked, "How am I supposed to win her love in a year? I was almost giving up hope by now."

"You have to deflate your head, you know, become responsible and all," Lily said. _So you will be_ , she thought happily, _when you get your head boy badge_. She went on to explain in as much detail as she could without giving out the fact that her grandfather would be head boy the ways he could adopt to woo Lily – give up hexing people, learn not to shirk off responsibilities and so on.

"Isn't this exactly what Moony told you to do in the fifth year, which you blatantly ignored?" Sirius asked him with narrowed eyes.

"Shut up, Pads. If Moony had been from the future, I would have listened to him too." He turned to Lily as his best friend lamented his lack of brains.

"All right, Lily dearest, I'll try to do that," James said with a grin. "Thanks for your advice."

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by James Sirius' voice.

"Lily, we have got only five minutes," her brother informed her. She nodded, and began packing her things up. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"James, it's dad's birthday tomorrow!" she said, horrified.

James Sirius smacked his forehead. "Damn! I forgot all about it! And we haven't planned anything."

"Harry's birthday is on 31st July?" Sirius asked. The siblings nodded.

"When was he born? Which year, I mean," James asked.

"1980," they answered.

"So he'll be 40?"

"Yes," Lily replied.

The two Marauders whispered to each other, and then said, "Don't worry, you two. We'll give Harry the best birthday gift of his life."

When they looked doubtful, Sirius added, "We won't do anything troublesome. You just wait and watch." Any further protests which the other two were about to offer were cut off by the fact that they had only three minutes to spare.

"So, uh – we – we'll leave now," Even James Sirius, who always had a ready tongue, could not put his words together at this moment of farewell.

Lily stared at the two seventeen years old boys in front of her, and all of it, all the bitter truths that she had been trying to hold off ever since she met them, rushed to her in a moment. They had nothing but hard times in front of them. Only death, ruin, loneliness and pain. And she could do nothing, absolutely nothing to change their fate. She would have to go back to a world where they no longer existed. Where she could spot their names in the detention logbooks, where Nearly-Headless Nick told stories about their pranks, where her father stared at their pictures with a sad smile on his lips and a tear in his eye, where they lived and loved in the glory of words and pictures, but no longer in person. Her feelings rushed out externally in the forms of tears, which rolled down her cheeks like tiny cascades.

"Lily!" Sirius exclaimed, rushing forward. "What's wrong?"

"I – I just don't want to leave you," she sobbed, trying to wipe away her tears, which refused to stop. Both the Marauders stepped close, and knelt beside her.

"Shush, Lily. Don't cry," James said, hugging her tightly.

Sirius kissed her on her cheeks and forehead. "Don't be sad. We will always remember you. Don't give us a sad goodbye, please." He made a lost puppy expression, which made her laugh in spite of herself.

"Keep our presence a secret, please. Don't tell dad, ever," she said amidst sobs.

"I won't," the boys said simultaneously.

"Thanks for coming over. Whenever we go through tough times during the war in the future, our meeting with you with always remind us that we will win one day, and that the war is worth for," James said.

"Yeah, we will always love you. It was wonderful meeting both of you," Sirius added.

"Thanks, for everything, grandpa, Sirius," James Sirius said. "We had a lovely time."

Lily could feel her voice choking.

"Goodbye," was the only thing she could say, and willed her eyes to do the talking.

She tried to memorize the warmth in Sirius' eyes and the loving smile on his lips, the lopsided way in which James wore his glasses ( just like her father, she thought) and the way his wonderful hazel eyes sparkled. She would cherish these memories for life. A slight twinge of disappointment coursed through her at not being able to see her namesake, but she quickly pushed it away. After all, what she had got was more than she could ever ask for.

"Lily, quick, come here!" her brother shouted. The time turner around his neck was spinning. She rushed over to his side, and he threw its fine golden chain around her neck too. As they felt their surroundings blur and spin, Lily took one last eyeful of the two boys at the table, and screamed her lungs out, "Goodbye!"

They waved back, and then everything around the brother and sister twisted into an indistinguishable tangle of colors and sounds.

The next moment, Lily and James Sirius found themselves back in Sirius' bedroom. Feeling dizzy and unsteady on her feet, Lily seated herself on the old bed.

"We are back," she said.

"We are back," he agreed.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" Lily asked doubtfully.

James looked at the little hourglass in his hand, and then at the delicate silver bracelet around his sister's wrist. Then he put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out the snitch, which was now forty three years old.

"No," he said, "None of it was a dream."

Both were jolted to their senses by the honking of a cab on a distant street.

"We have to replace the time turner, and then I'll have to do some homework!" James exclaimed. "Come on, Lils, help me. Mum and dad might be home any moment."

Lily laughed. "You could do with a little more time now, isn't it?" she teased.

"There is no time for jokes, Lily. Come along!" James snapped, and rushed out of the room.

Lily chuckled at her brother's idiocy, but began walking out anyway. But her brain was working on other things than her brother's homework.

 _It is so strange that we met them for the first time, that too only for a couple of hours, and yet I feel as if they have been there with me all my life,_ she thought. Sure, she had heard so many stories about those two, but this one visit had made a connection between them, a strange but wonderful bond between people whom they had never had a chance to meet under ordinary circumstances. At the door, she paused, and looked at the bracelet on her wrist. _'With love, from Messrs. Padfoot and Prongs.'_ She smiled even as her eyes welled up.

"I love you too, both of you," she whispered. "Always."

* * *

 **I hope that was good enough. Perhaps Lily and James know too much about their father's past, but that was necessary for the sake of the story.**

 **What about a little review? Pretty please?**


	3. Gifts of the Season

**And... The final chapter. I do hope none of you are allergic to reading letters...*wink*. Enjoy. And do leave reviews. I've got only so few yet! :'-(**

 **Disclaimer : Me not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next day when the family sat down to breakfast, Lily and James were quite nervous. What would be the gift that the two Marauders were going to send? Would they remember about their promise at all, or would their father's birthday go blank? They wished Harry happy birthday, but that was all. Even their mother was curious.

"Why, aren't you doing anything for Harry this year?" she asked them curiously.

Both the children laughed nervously, and put the question off with a vague answer. The truth was that they themselves did not know. If the Marauders worked according to plan, the answer was yes, otherwise, no.

A short while later, Albus asked them in seclusion, "Do you think they will send the gift?"

The two had told their brother about their adventure late that night. Much to their surprise, Albus had not reprimanded them for illegally using such a precious and dangerous artifact, but had sadly wished that he could have gone with them. He was excited at the prospect of his father receiving a birthday gift from his parents and godfather, but unfortunately the uncertainty lingered.

The other two shrugged in response, not having enough confidence to answer in a determined affirmative. After all, forty three years was a long time. The fulfillment of a promise made such a long time ago was difficult to be ensured.

But they need not have worried. At about eleven o' clock in the daytime, a tawny owl knocked at the window of the kitchen. Ginny let it in, and it flew over to land in front of Harry, who was reading the Daily Prophet.

"What have you got there?" he murmured, as the owl hooted morosely. The package tied to its leg was a medium sized box, wrapped in brown paper. After relieving the owl of its burden and paying it, Harry turned to the parcel.

"It's from Gringotts," he said, looking at the label. He carefully tore off its brown-paper wrapper, revealing a pretty wooden box, and a letter from Gringotts. He began reading it out.

 _To Mr. Harry Potter,_

 _It is to inform you that you have bequeathed this article from Mr. James Potter and Mr. Sirius Black, who, as you are aware, were your father and godfather respectively. This box, containing certain objects which have been inspected and thereby certified as harmless by Gringotts, had been safely stored in vault number 708, jointly owned by the aforementioned individuals. Gringotts officials were instructed by the owners to hand this over to you on 31st July, 2020, as a present for your fortieth birthday. The Gringotts Wizarding Bank, following the instructions given by the owners of vault 708 on 20th May, 1981, finds itself duly responsible to deliver to you these items._

 _Wishing you a good day and a very happy birthday,_

 _With best regards,_

 _William Wainwright._

 _(Chief Manager of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, England)_

At the other end of the room, the three children were glancing at each other excitedly.

"This must be the gift from Grandpa," Lily whispered. The other two nodded eagerly. Tentatively, they inched closer to the table to get a better look. Their father opened the box. At the top, were three cream-colored envelopes. Harry took up the one at the very top, tore it open and pulled a letter out of it. All the inhabitants of 12, Grimmauld Place (except Kreacher, of course) were now assembled close to the Potters' dining table. At a requesting look from Ginny, Harry began to read out the letter, and his hand clutching the parchment trembled slightly. He recognized the handwriting; he had read the same in a room a few stories above, in that very house, more than twenty years ago. It was from his mother.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Happy fortieth birthday! My, you must be so grown up when you are reading this. I can't quite imagine how you will look at forty, probably an older version of James, with my eyes, of course_ ( Harry couldn't hide a smile at how correct her guesswork was) _. All I can see now is a happy little baby in the cot beside me._

 _To be honest, it was James and Sirius who came up with the idea of storing a gift for the time when you turn forty, and I must say, it's pretty brilliant!_

 _You are only eight months old now, so you must understand how difficult it is for me to address this letter to my forty years old son. I just can't come up with a topic to write about. The war is looming, of course. It has been six months since the Fidelius charm was cast upon us, and the depressing atmosphere is really bearing down on me, hard. We do have occasional rejoicings, celebrating James' birthday, for instance, but bad news is much more abundant than good ones. Sirius tries to cheer me up whenever he turns up here; James too, although, trust me, he is hardly any better than I am. They often talk about how the war will get over soon, and you will marry a beautiful redheaded girl and have three lovely children._ (Harry and Ginny stared at each other, wide-eyed, wondering at the accuracy of the statement, while James and Lily shuffled nervously.) _Such things are a bit far-fetched to think of now, but the fantasy is really endearing, and besides, there is no harm in dreaming._

 _I wish I could get to see you, face to face. Surely the war has come to an end by now. There are so many questions that I would like to ask. Do you have any brothers or sisters? Does Sirius marry? How are our friends? Well, only time will tell._

 _I do hope that I have been a good mother to you, Harry. These are dark times, and none of us know how things will turn out. But all I want is you to be happy, forever. Remember Harry, mum always loves you._

 _Anyway, happy birthday again! Have fun!_

 _Lots of love,_

 _Mum._

Smiling through the moisture that had collected in his eyes, Harry gently placed the letter back.

"Thanks, mum," he whispered so quietly that none of the other occupants of the room heard it. He picked up the second envelope, and opened the letter inside.

One glance at the extremely familiar, elegant handwriting was enough to tell him who it was from. It was the same hand which had been his closest confidant during two years of his school life, the person who had been the closest thing to a father he had ever come to have – his godfather, Sirius Black.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Happy birthday! So, forty then, huh? You don't know how amazing it is for me to imagine you all grown up. After all, the Harry I know now is a tiny black-haired baby tumbling around in the house._

 _Thinking about the forty years old you reminds me of the first time I laid my eyes on you. When your father asked me to be your godfather, I was really surprised, or rather, shocked. I had always wanted to be the godfather of my best mate's son, but I had expected them to ask Moony, as he is the level-headed one among us. But even Lily wanted it to be me, so here I am, proud godfather of Harry James Potter!_

 _I love coming to your place (should I use past tense? You will be reading this way far in the future, after all) and playing with you. You are (uh, were? Well, whatever) a really cute baby, Harry. I am not really great with kids, but you seem to love me a lot. I try to spend as much time with you as possible, which, sadly, isn't much these days. I can't wait for this damned war to get over. I am tires of fighting; all of us are._

 _I don't quite know how things are going to turn out from now on; how many of us made it through the war, and which of us didn't. All I hope is that you've had a happy life._

 _Now that I look back at what I have written, I think that my letter resembles Lily's a lot, but we can't help it; you and the war, that's mostly all we have on our mind these days. I don't know if I have been a good godfather to you; after all, I am not much of a role model. But if there is anything I am sure of, it's that I love you with all my life, and no matter what happens, it is one thing about me that will never change. I am really proud of you, Harry._

 _Stay safe,_

 _Lots of Love,_

 _Sirius._

As Harry finished reading, he could feel numerous emotions coursing through him. A warm sensation was spreading through his body, a sense of reunion with his long lost godfather. He felt happy and sad at the same time, as well as grateful to Sirius for unconditionally loving him so. Still, that line of his mother's letter continued to puzzle him; was that bit about his wife and children merely a fluke, or was there more to it? He looked up to see Ginny smiling at him a little tearfully, apparently sharing his feelings of joy and grief. The children were grinning at each other, doubtlessly enjoying hearing from those they had never had a chance to meet.

Meeting his gaze, James gave him a smile and said, "Why don't you read us the last letter, dad? Then we can see your gift."

Harry nodded, and wordlessly picked up the third and the last letter, pushing away the little questions that were creeping into his mind.

He remembered seeing the slightly untidy scrawl that was spread on the parchment in front of him only once, way back in his third year on the Marauders' Map, insulting Severus Snape, but judging by the extreme similarity of the handwriting to his own, he had no doubt that it was his father's.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Happy Birthday! I would have loved to write about how things are here and such stuff, but I think that Sirius and Lily have done enough of that already. So I will try to keep it short and simple._

 _Firstly, I want you to know that I am really, really proud of you, regardless of what you have become. I don't have the slightest bit of doubt that you will be a great person though, what with Lily's wonderful genes in you._

 _Well, moving on, it was difficult for us to us (Lily, Sirius and me, that is) to select a gift for you. After all, what do you give to your forty years old son when you yourself are just twenty one? We went through many options (your childhood toys to books to gold watches or rings) but at last, we decided on this. To be completely honest (and not at all modest), it took us quite a bit of hard work and a lot of time to put this together. But anyway, before I spill any more beans, I think it would be better if you check your gift out, and then read the rest of this._

Obediently, Harry put down the letter and took up the parcel which was kept underneath it. It was wrapped in colourful paper, which he tore open with care. The paper fell away, revealing a beautiful leather bound book. On the cover was written in golden print:

 _To_

 _Harry James Potter_

 _On his fortieth birthday_

The book turned out to be a combination of a scrapbook, photo album and journal. On every page of the book were messages from those he loved – Remus Lupin, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore to name a few, as well as those whom he had never had a chance to meet – Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, and Benji Fenwick. There were even entries from Neville's parents, whom he had never been able to talk to. The messages were accompanied by pictures of him as a baby, with his parents and others who loved him. Tears came to Harry's eyes as he read the messages full of love, all wishing him luck in life. It felt as if he were directly talking to all those people, most of whom were by now dead. He showed his gift to the rest of his family, who were equally moved by it. Wiping away the tears from his eyes, Ginny pointed towards his father's letter, which lay all but forgotten in the aftermath of the gift. Nodding, Harry took up the yellowing parchment and continued reading.

 _So, I hope that you liked it. It wasn't much, but there isn't much scope of going out for shopping these days. Many of those who wrote in the book are now dead, and I hope that you will understand how much they loved you and cared for you._

 _Now, there is something which I want to tell you. I saw that Lily has mentioned us telling her about your redheaded wife and three children, and you are probably wondering whether that piece of information was pure chance, or something more. Well, I believe you will get your answer if you look into your box of gifts again._

Harry paused and looked up from the letter at his wife. She was looking just as bewildered as he felt. He glanced at his children. Lily and James were looking very nervous all of a sudden, and Albus was giving them worried glances. Thoroughly puzzled, he turned back to finish the letter.

 _And by the way, if you liked your gift, you can thank your children on our behalf. We couldn't have done this without them._

 _Well, once again, a very happy birthday to you!_

 _Lots of love,_

 _Dad._

Harry was now practically bursting with curiosity. He quickly put down the letter, turning his attention to the box on the table. It looked empty, but on closer inspection, he found a photograph lying at the bottom. It was a wizarding picture, with four young people smiling at the camera. He recognized two of them as the teenage versions of his father and godfather. But it wasn't those two which made his breath catch in his throat or his eyes go as wide as saucers. Because standing right beside James Potter and Sirius Black were two of his own children. He turned to stare at them. Both James and Lily were meeting his eyes with difficulty.

"How?" was the only word he could manage.

James and Lily looked at each other.

"Will you tell him, or should I?" James asked his sister.

"You do it," Lily replied. "I will fill in if you miss anything."

James took a deep breath to steady himself, and then launched into an explanation of his adventure, right from how he had broken into Harry's study and discovered the time turner, to how he coaxed his sister to going with him. He saw his father's eyes narrow when he described how he had pilfered into his study, but he didn't interrupt. Lily joined in from there, telling them how they had turned up in Diagon Alley of 1977 and seen Sirius and James, how the two boys had called them over, and the conversation that had ensued. The two children did not miss a single detail of their adventures, and when James told his parents about Sirius' comment on Ginny's beauty, the said woman turned bright red, much to her son's amusement. Finally, the two told them about the gifts they had received from their grandfather and father's godfather, Lily lifting up her wrist to show them the silver bracelet, and James pulling out the snitch from his pocket. Harry wordlessly examined the two items, and James silently noted the emotions swirling in the depths of his eyes.

"And when we remembered that we hadn't arranged anything for your birthday, Grandpa and Sirius promised us that they would send something for you. Hence this thing," Lily waved her hand towards the box on the table. "We weren't sure if they would remember, but they did." She smiled fondly at her bracelet.

She looked up at her mother, who still appeared to be trying to process the strange facts that the children had laid before her, and then turned her gaze to her father. He was looking at her brother and her with an unreadable expression on his face. Lily could feel herself grow uncomfortable at his lack of response and scrutinising gaze. Apparently, James had become just as nervous as her.

"We are sorry, dad," he said. "I am sorry, really. I hadn't meant to meet anyone we knew. I just wanted to look around a bit into the past; I couldn't control my curiosity. And believe me, we didn't change the timeline. We were careful about what we spoke."

"Please don't be angry, dad," Lily pleaded. "We didn't mean any harm. We are sorry."

Harry looked at them for a couple of seconds more, and then, without warning, swept them into a tight hug. Both the children froze momentarily, startled by this sudden embrace.

 _I was expecting a big telling-off_ , James thought. Lily felt a little wetness on her cheek, and realised that the tears were her father's.

"Thank you, children," Harry said a little thickly. "That was the best birthday gift I've ever got." He pulled back with a big smile on his face. "Perhaps I should be angry at you for undertaking such a risky and dangerous journey, but I am not. I am just glad that you could meet dad and Sirius. You enjoyed seeing them, didn't you?"

"Oh yes, dad!" James' grin was threatening to dislodge his lower jaw from the rest of his skull. "Lily almost got married to Sirius."

"Shut up, James," Lily snapped, but her tone was devoid of annoyance, so profound was her relief at her father's happiness. "I did no such thing."

Harry simply laughed at his children's antics, and then turned to Albus. The boy was watching the interaction between his father and siblings with something close to envy.

"Hey Al," he called to his son. "Come here." And he enveloped him in a hug as well. "I know you would have loved to see dad and Sirius too," he said softly. "I am sorry about that."

Albus simply smiled. "It's all right, dad. I am just happy that these two," he pointed at Lily and James, who were now exhibiting their gifts to their mother, "could meet them. And I am glad that you weren't mad at them."

Harry smiled back. "It has been my dream to get my parents and godfather back ever since I lost them, Al. I couldn't possibly be mad at my children when they had made a part of that dream come true, could I?"

Their interaction was interrupted by Ginny, who was holding another letter aloft.

"There was this last letter in the box," she said. "It says _'To James, Lily and Albus'_." She handed the envelope to her eldest son. James held the thing out for his siblings to see.

"Can we read it upstairs, dad?" Lily asked suddenly. Harry nodded with the smile, and settled at the table beside his wife. "Go ahead."

The three filed out towards the stairs, Albus slightly shocked at being addressed in the letter as well. However, they didn't go to their rooms. Lily found herself heading automatically to Sirius' room, and to her surprise, her brothers followed without a question. It seemed that the same thought had occurred to all three of them – that the late marauder's room was the perfect place to read the letter.

Soon the three Potter children were sitting on Sirius' bed, unfolding the letter which had been written thirty nine years ago. It was dated a few months later than those addressed to their father. The handwriting, they recognised from the previous letter, was their grandfather's.

 _Dear Lily, James and Albus,_

 _Hey, little ones. I hope you are well. After all those letters we wrote for Harry, I thought you lot deserved one too. I do hope that you haven't got tired of reading letters already, because that is probably all that you have been doing this morning. Sirius wanted to write to you too, especially to you, Lily._ James and Albus sniggered, while Lily scowled mildly at the letter, her face rapidly going red.

 _Sadly, he couldn't turn up here lately. He has been pretty busy between his missions and lying low, and I am under house arrest, so I can't go see him. He sends his love to you all, though. Especially to you, my dear little Lily flower._

Lily buried her face in her hands and groaned while the boys burst into laughter; all of them could clearly imagine the mischievous smirk on the face of their grandfather as he wrote that line.

 _Firstly, I want to say that I am sorry for not being able to meet you too, Albus, but I am sure, although I never got to see you, that you are a great person; your brother and sister told me enough about you to convince me of that. I am sorry about not sending you a gift as well, I hope you didn't mind._

Albus smiled down at the letter; of course he didn't mind. He was very happy that his grandfather had remembered him and written to him.

 _Now to James and Lily, I hope you all liked the gift we planned out for your dad. As I said, it wasn't much, but that was all that was possible for us under the circumstances._

 _I know that Sirius and I promised never to tell anyone about your visit, but I thought that Harry needed to know about your little adventure; we couldn't think of taking all the credit for the gift. Hopefully you didn't get into trouble because of the revelation; I am sorry if you did. I am positive that neither Sirius nor I altered the timeline by spilling the beans, because Sirius is the most trustworthy person I have ever known in my life, and I, too will never speak about this to anyone. I didn't even tell Lily about this._

 _For you, it's only yesterday that you turned up in our time, but for us, Sirius and I, that is, four years have passed since we met you. Things have changed a lot since then; times have got much worse. People are dying left and right; not a day passes without the news of someone we know found dead or missing. It doesn't help that I am stuck in the house, powerless to do anything. I don't even know why I am telling you of this; it seems that I can't get these things from out of my head. I can't express in words just how much your visit increased our hopes. Whenever Sirius or I get depressed, we think of you two, and see the picture album that we got from you, and the thought of you all leading a happy and safe life tells us, time and again, that the war is worth fighting for, and that we should not give up. So, thanks a lot for raising our morale._

 _You know, I don't know why, but I keep having a feeling that I am going to die soon. I am not sure whether it's just the effect of so many deaths around us; the idea seems pretty absurd, as we are safe under the Fidelius charm, but I just can't shake off the feeling. Anyway, what will happen, will happen. Only you know what happened to us, whether we lived through the war or not. But whatever happens, I want to tell you that I really love you a lot. That is something that hasn't changed over these years, and will never ever change._

 _Oh, and by the way, thanks for the bit of love advice, Lily. I couldn't have got to marry Lily Evans had I not listened to you. It was really a unique experience meeting you; I can't imagine how things would have turned out if it hadn't happened._

 _So, that is it, I suppose. I will be leading my life as long as I can, and I hope that you all be happy and successful in life. Live your life as you will, for you are very lovely children, and I am very, very proud to be your grandfather._

 _Lots and lots of love,_

 _Grandpa James._

None of the three children could contain the huge smiles that were spilling out on their lips. Their hearts felt full to the brim with love, love for those people who had so unconditionally cared for them even in the times of war, who had confidently said 'I am proud if you' after only one single meeting. All three pairs of eyes lifted to the framed picture of the four teenagers on the wall, frolicking under the bright sunlight, and to them, it felt as if the smiles on the faces of the bespectacled boy and his handsome companion in the frame were more brilliant than the light of a thousand suns. The events of the day had taught them one lesson – love has no boundaries, it does not stop to age, time or circumstance. And it was that love which was filling up their heart and soul, right up to the brim.

For once, one of James Sirius Potter's notorious antics had brought, not chaos, but joy. All was well.

The End


End file.
